


Grande Valse Brillante in E-flat major

by sidleupandsmile



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Budding Romance, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 10:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4561083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidleupandsmile/pseuds/sidleupandsmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A ballroom dance in 3/4 time which first developed in Val Royeaux as a fast paced dance to the music of the time, and eventually evolved into the slower version we now know as Waltz."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grande Valse Brillante in E-flat major

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatWeirdSkittle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWeirdSkittle/gifts).



To say Lyrena Hawke had been putting off preparations for the upcoming Summerday ball all the upper class families were putting together was a massive sort of understatement. Her mother had been a flutter doing her part and this was one event even Hawke herself couldn't talk her way out of attending. No amount of 'but I've got this thing to find on the Wounded Coast' was working on her this time. And, of course, this particular ball required a male companion. 'For _appearances_ sake, Lyrena' she heard echoing in her head.

Of all of the men she knew, Fenris was right out, Anders even more so, Sebastian…no. So that left Varric. Who had laughed in her face before realizing she was serious. Getting him to agree had involved throwing a few spectacular hands of Wicked Grace and paying off a portion of his tab at the Hanged Man, but eventually he'd relented with a sigh and an 'oh, alright. For you, Hawke'.

Then he'd asked the question of whether she knew how to dance with a dwarf, since these things always involved dancing.

"Of course I know how to dance, Varric. We may have been poor Lothering folk, but my mother was still an Amell," Hawke said, putting on a fake upper class air with the last phrase, grinning a bit at him.

"No, no, not if you know how to dance at all. Dance with a _dwarf_ ," he countered, knowing now that the answer was no.

"I've not had the pleasure, no," she said, now sounding hesitant.

"Come on, spin around the room with me," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her into a silent dance, giving her a long 'see what I mean' look when she stumbled around and bent over him awkwardly, since the top of his head only came up to about the low line of her breasts when they stood this closely. "We're going to have to practice this, you know."

She let out a low groan because it was bad enough that her mother was getting her into a dress, but now dance practice?

Varric laughed, patting her arm fondly. "I'll come over tomorrow then when Leandra is out on her weekly shopping excursion."

"Don't remind me. Mother's been talking about doing something ridiculous with my hair, you know. Apparently my locks are too short for society," she said with a roll of her eyes. Society could hang as far as she was concerned, but sometimes it was easier to just appease her mother than argue. "But yes, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you, Varric, for this."

"Don't mention it Hawke," he said, waving her off with a grin. "No really, don't spread this around. I'll lose my reputation!"

"What would every one think? Best Wicked Grace player in town schmoozing with high society," she teased as she left, waving at him.

 

* * *

 

  
Lyrena had found an old skirt with stains on it to wear, since she knew she'd be wearing a dress for the ball. It was uncomfortable, not her usual style, but it would work. Better to get used to it now than to make a fool of herself in front of all of her mother's friends. 

Varric was painfully on time, offering a soft greeting to Orana when she opened the door for him. Hawke took a deep breath before she descended the stairs and called out a greeting to him, smiling broadly to hide any nervousness that might be lingering on her face.

"Here to watch me make a fool out of myself?" she asked him with a more genuine grin.

"Now, now, Hawke," he replied, giving her a pointed look. "The whole point is to move you up from 'I can never show my face here again' to 'Huh, look at her, she's not half bad'."

"Oh, I suppose you're right," she said, showing him into one of the side rooms, Orana following after them with her lute.

So, of course, it was only fitting that their first few attempts were less like a waltz and more like a herd of stumbling bronto. Varric was completely patient with her as he pointed out where she was stepping wrong, not holding her weight right to accommodate his lower stature. But that didn't stop her from getting impatient and huffing quietly each time they had to start over.

"Come on, Hawke. This is just like you and Rivaini and your whirling dervish routine," Varric said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"This is _not_ like Isabela and I," Lyrena replied immediately, frustration shining through as she fumbled with her long skirts. "When I'm out with Isabela, I'm wearing _pants_."

Varric laughed outright before he replied. "Okay, fine, this is a totally different monster. It's a _dragon_ of a thing. So let's treat this like a dragon. One limb at a time."

Lyrena gave Varric a conceding shrug before reaching for his hands again. "Like a dragon. I can handle dragons. High dragons. Low dragons."

"Was that a joke about my height?" Varric interjected playfully before she could continue about 'baby dragons and mature dragons'.

"Never," she replied with a laugh, settling down and taking a deep breath. "Alright, let's try again, although I'll warn you right now, you start breathing fire and I'm running for the hills."

"Hey, you'd know by now if I had _that_ kind of thing secreted way," he told her, winking at Orana to get her to start playing again, leading Lyrena into the gentle waltz they'd been trying to learn. She was doing alright, not great, but good enough, not tripping over her skirts and not bending over him like she'd been doing before. "Good, good, keep that up." He led her into a turn as she stumbled slightly, not used to not having the press of a body up against her chest when she danced, but he grinned a bit as she recovered easily.

"You know, when my mother made me take those dancing lessons in Lothering, I doubt she imagined it would come to this," she said softly, more focused on the steps and how to keep from looking like a dunce.

"Come now, Hawke," he teased. "Everyone knows that dwarves are the best dancers. The whole room is going to be vying for my name on their dance card."

"Yes, yes, I'm entirely too honored to have your guiding hand accompanying me."

He chuckled, rolling his eyes a bit. "Let's try again, and this time, look at my eyes not at my feet," he told her, leading her into another slow dance, the first of many for the afternoon.

Hawke got progressively better, taking his advice into account here and there. She wasn't always entirely comfortable letting him lead, but by the time Leandra came back from her shopping excursion, Lyrena could dance comfortably enough with him to not have to think of the steps. It would have to be good enough, since they didn't have much time before they'd have to dance together in front of all of Kirkwall society.

After a hasty meal prepared by Orana, who'd all but forgotten about it while she'd been playing her lute for them, Varric excused himself back to the Hanged Man.

"You'll do fine, Hawke. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, flashing her another grin.

"I wouldn't miss Wicked Grace for the world," she told him, although her tone was a bit chagrined since everyone knew Hawke had a habit of lying through her teeth when it came to cards. It had been used against her one too many times, and had become something of a running joke.

"See you then," Varric said as she showed him out, giving her a little wave before he walked out of sight.

"Maker, this is going to be a disaster," Hawke muttered to herself before she went back inside to brave whatever selection her mother had made with her dress.

 

* * *

 

  
Hawke and Varric didn't arrive together, instead having planned to meet on the second staircase at the Keep. Her short red hair was decorated with tiny little jeweled chains with purple accents, to match her dress, a splendid grape colored piece with gold and silver embroidery. Even though it _was_ a dress, even Lyrena could admit that she did clean up quite nice.

She whirled around when she heard a gasp behind her, seeing Varric standing there, his appearance quite dashing, but his expression was a bit stunned.

"You look beautiful, Hawke," he said, his tone a bit breathless.

Lyrena blushed a bit, rolling one of her feet up on to her toes as she thought of what to say. "I thought beautiful was reserved for Bianca, and for my sister."

"No, not just them," he said with a soft grin.

Hawke was silent for a moment, her cheeks still slightly flushed, eyes firmly fixed on her feet.

"So…would you care to accompany me on this dance?" he asked her, his tone jovial, trying to dispel her nervousness.

"I'd love to," she said as she graced him with a bright, genuine smile, taking his hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

And when they danced, it was like no one existed but them. No more sounds of the crowd milling about. No more echoing clang of glasses being filled with punch. Just her, Varric, and the music.

It was one of the best moments Hawke had experienced in a long, long time.

**Author's Note:**

> My prompt was "Varric teaches Hawke how to dance with a dwarf" and I had a lovely time writing this. I know I didn't write as much as some of my fellow writers, but I really hope you enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
